We develop a framework for classifying locality preserving unitaries (LPUs) with internal, unitary symmetries in
d dimensions, based on
(d−1) dimensional ``flux insertion operators" which are easily computed from the unitary. Using this framework, we obtain formulas for topological invariants of LPUs that prepare, or entangle, symmetry protected topological phases (SPTs). These formulas serve as edge invariants for Floquet topological phases in
(d+1) dimensions that ``pump"
d-dimensional SPTs. For 1D SPT entanglers and certain higher dimensional SPT entanglers, our formulas are completely closed-form.
1+1D symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases with invertible symmetry can be characterized by the symmetric entanglers: globally symmetric finite-depth local unitary circuits that generate representative ground states from a product state. For non-invertible symmetries, however, distinct SPT phases, such as the three
Rep(D8) SPT phases, may not be connected by any symmetric entangler. We show that the three
Rep(D8) SPT phases can nevertheless be connected by \emph{symmetry-permuting} finite-depth local unitary circuits, realizing dualities predicted by topological quantum field theory (TQFT). We construct an explicit matrix product unitary connecting two of the
Rep(D8) SPT phases, and show that its action on string order parameters reproduces the anyon permutation predicted by the TQFT duality.
It has been suggested that non-invertible symmetry protected topological phases (SPT), due to the lack of a stacking structure, do not have symmetric entanglers (globally symmetric finite-depth quantum circuits) connecting them. Using topological holography, we argue that a symmetric entangler should in fact exist for
1+1d systems whenever the non-invertible symmetry has SPT phases connected by fixed-charge dualities (FCD). Moreover, we construct an explicit example of a symmetric entangler for the two SPT phases with
Rep(A4)-symmetry, as a matrix product unitary (MPU).
We propose an order parameter for the symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases which are protected by Abelian on-site symmetries. This order parameter, called the SPT entanglement, is defined as the entanglement between
A and
B, two distant regions of the system, given that the total charge (associated with the symmetry) in a third region
C is measured and known, where
C is a connected region surrounded by
A,B, and the boundaries of the system. In the case of one-dimensional systems we prove that in the limit where
A and
B are large and far from each other compared to the correlation length, the SPT entanglement remains constant throughout a SPT phase, and furthermore, it is zero for the trivial phase while it is nonzero for all the nontrivial phases. Moreover, we show that the SPT entanglement is invariant under the low-depth quantum circuits which respect the symmetry, and hence it remains constant throughout a SPT phase in the higher dimensions as well. Also, we show that there is an intriguing connection between SPT entanglement and the Fourier transform of the string order parameters, which are the traditional tool for detecting SPT phases. This leads to an algorithm for extracting the relevant information about the SPT phase of the system from the string order parameters. Finally, we discuss implications of our results in the context of measurement-based quantum computation.
According to a recent theoretical conjecture for a classification of symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases which can arise in a collection of lattice boson models called group cohomology models, each model belongs to a distinct SPT phase, and each SPT phase can be realized by a model. Here the authors show that for SPT phases with symmetry groups that are finite, Abelian, and unitary, each group cohomology model can be characterized by a unique set of topological invariants and therefore belongs to a distinct SPT phase. In two dimensions it is further shown that the complete set of group cohomology models accounts for all SPT phases, while in three dimensions evidence pointing toward such a proof is found.
Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases exhibit nontrivial short-ranged entanglement protected by symmetry and cannot be adiabatically connected to trivial product states while preserving the symmetry. In contrast, intrinsic topological phases do not need ordinary symmetry to stabilize them and their ground states exhibit long-range entanglement. It is known that for a given symmetry group
G, the 2D SPT phase protected by
G is dual to the 2D topological phase exemplified by the twisted quantum double model ${D}^{\ensuremath{\omega}}(G)$ via gauging the global symmetry
G. Recently it was realized that such a general gauging map can be implemented by some local unitaries and local measurements when
G is a finite, solvable group. Here, we review the general approach to gauging a $G\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{SPT}$ starting from a fixed-point ground-state wave function and applying a
N-step gauging procedure. We provide an in-depth analysis of the intermediate states emerging during the
N-step gauging and provide tools to measure and identify the emerging symmetry-enriched topological order (SET) of these states. We construct the generic lattice parent Hamiltonians for these intermediate states and show that they form an entangled superposition of a twisted quantum double (TQD) with an SPT-ordered state. Notably, we show that they can be connected to the TQD through a finite-depth, local quantum circuit which does not respect the global symmetry of the SET order. We introduce the so-called symmetry branch line operators and show that they can be used to extract the symmetry fractionalization classes (SFC) and symmetry defectification classes (SDC) of the SET phases with the input data
G and $[\ensuremath{\omega}]\ensuremath{\in}{H}^{3}(G,U(1))$ of the pregauged SPT-ordered state. We illustrate the procedure of preparing and characterizing the emerging SET-ordered states for some Abelian and non-Abelian examples such as dihedral groups
Dn and the quaternion group
Q8.